


Learning To Live

by CDM



Category: Dangan Ronpa
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair, Angst, Chi is gender fluid in this btw, Child Abuse, Fluff, Fluffy Angst, I'll stop tagging now, M/M, Mental Abuse, Mentions of physical abuse?, Taka is a nerd with a lot of problems he's working on, Taka's dad is kinda an abusive asshole, Taka's mom is alive but kinda mentally fucked up, This will probs be super slow moving, angsty fluff, if you squint you might see ChiShiMondo, if you squint you might see OT3, ishimondo - Freeform, supportive Chi, they/them pronouns for Chi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-01-25
Packaged: 2018-09-14 04:07:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9160642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CDM/pseuds/CDM
Summary: Ishimaru Kiyotaka has lived his entire life under the cold gaze of his parents, the weight of his soiled name and his grandfather's sins, and the belief that he was just not meant to be happy. Mondo Oowada and Chihiro Fujisaki are willing to do anything to free him and teach him how to live with the belief that he's worth more than the world has to offer.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I plan to make this my first multi-chap fic, and this first chap is more of (hopefully) a warm up since I haven't actually written anything in ages. And to avoid confusion, I should probably mention a few things here first: there's gonna be hella headcanons and Chi is gender fluid and uses they/them pronouns in this. I hope this is okay at least?
> 
> \-------EDIT--------
> 
> Okay, so now that I'm finally back home I've decided to combine the first two chapters I wrote while stuck at the hospital. I took a really really REALLY short break there and I think I have a better idea of where I want to take this and how I want to lay it out now. And thank you to those who are interested in this so far!!! You guys will most likely be my driving force in writing this instead of me just letting myself give up on it like I do most stories I decide to work on so I hope it remains enjoyable for you all!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I plan to make this my first multi-chap fic, and this first chap is more of (hopefully) a warm up since I haven't actually written anything in ages. And to avoid confusion, I should probably mention a few things here first: there's gonna be hella headcanons and Chi is gender fluid and uses they/them pronouns in this. I hope this is okay at least?  
> \----EDIT---------  
> I'm fixing typos and the such before I add the new chapter so if you're being swamped with notifications I'm sorry.

     The small home was silent. There were no happy voices, no boisterous laughter, nor any adoring gazes or comforting touches here for him. He expected as much, though, so why he was disappointed he didn't know. His family home was always like this after all, and he knew that. Silent, full of tension, and covered in the smog of fear and oppression.....now that he had experienced something other than this he could tell just how unhealthy an atmosphere it really was. He was already immensely missing his friends from Hopes Peak, and his mind was scolding itself for letting himself be lured into going home for the holidays yet again even though he was fully aware that the outcome would never change. He would simply return to the esteemed academy with his newly acquired bruises and cuts well hidden. He would be forced to face his two friends whom knew the truth of his situation and smile, knowing that all he was doing was breaking all three of their hearts.

     He could see the pained grimace of Mondo and the sad, teary, smile Chihiro forced onto their face in his mind's eye and it hurt. It hurt so bad. He knew that the two only wanted the best for him, truly he did, but yet still he returned to the home he spent his childhood in. He returned without fail every holiday because it was what his mother asked of him over the school's phone in her deceitful lilt. He returned because he knew that if he was even a few minutes off schedule getting home his father would pull up to the academy in the police cruiser he drove for work. Because he knew, from experience now, that if Mondo were to ever see his father again it would be far too heart breaking, far too nerve wracking, to convince him to let him go. To let him return to his toxic childhood environment even for a second, let alone the full week that is the break. With shuddering breaths he finally sits to remove his shoes, the coat framing his body following soon after. The silence has been broken by his shudders, his failed attempts to keep the stinging tears at bay, by his quiet shuffling and the rustling fabric of his coat. Joining his silent sounds is a voice, soft and beautiful, that strikes fear into him. "Taka, baby, is that you? Are you home now?" Even with how angelic his Mother's soft voice is, it just sounds hollow to him. "Yes, mother, I'm back."

     The silence returns, interrupted only by the quiet shuffles of his Mother's feet on the floor as she heads to the front of the home. Kiyotaka waits, not moving an inch, as the shuffling gets louder. As it gets faster. As his mother rounds a corner, finally in view of her son and vice versa. And then it stops. Kiyotaka continues to wait, his eyes unmoving from his Mother's as she looks him over, as he tries to read her to see how she might be feeling- how she may be reacting -towards him at the current moment in time. "Oh, Taka, mommy missed you," the woman coos, "Come here. Give mommy a hug." And he obeys, stepping forward to embrace his mother, for he knows that that was nothing short of a command. As he hugs her, trying not to cringe or flinch, he takes a slow deep breath. He can do this. He'll be fine.

     Kiyotaka slowly begins to relax in his Mother's arms and he sighs before releasing his hold on the woman, pulling back to better examine her. She was shorter than him though not by much, with long black hair pulled into a braid, her red eyes striking despite the bags underneath of them, and her skin taut on her frail body. "Mother, have you lost weight again?" He asks, the concern flooding his voice causing her to send him an empty yet genuine smile. "It's fine, baby," Kiyo's mother tuts as she quietly leads her son farther into their home, "Momma's just fine, no need to worry about me." Kiyotaka doubts the truthfulness of that statement with every fiber of his being yet he remains silent, letting her lead him into the rather bare living room and down onto the couch. "Now, you just stay right here and I'll go wake your father up. He wanted to be woken up once you got home," she glances over to the closed door in the back of the home, her smile faltering as she pulls her braid over her shoulder to stroke it- a nervous habit. "Mother, I could--" Kiyotaka begins before cutting off at the glare his mother sends his way. They lock eyes for a minute and a battle to see who will sacrifice for who, a silent battle of wills, begins. Two minutes. Three. Four. After several minutes Kiyotaka nods,  giving in to the will of his mother, and she smiles at him once more. "I'll be right back, baby."

     It was a full five minutes later when Kiyotaka finally heard signs of his father being awake. It started as hushed tones that the thin walls of their home did nothing to hide and then those escalated at an astonishing rate into angry male screaming. This was why Kiyo had tried to switch places with his mother. He hated these moments, where his body was frozen to the spot and he could do nothing to stop what was going on behind closed doors as he waited with baited breath for the screaming to cease. As he waited for whatever his father had in store for him. As he waited and waited to _finally_ be able to run to his mother and make sure she's at least breathing- that she's still alive. And eventually it did end, followed by the sound of a loud crack. Kiyo paled. Father was truly in a foul mood, it seemed, if he was willing to hit mother again. A few seconds later the door opens revealing only his father, Takaaki Ishimaru.

     His hair seemed to of farther greyed since Kiyotaka had last seen him, his goatee much more prominent, thicker and coupled with a slowly forming stubble of a beard, and his eyes had sunken farther into the bags resting beneath them. How quickly one's appearance could change always startled Kiyotaka, and his father was never an exception as he somehow always managed to look so much worse each time Kiyotaka's eyes landed on him once more. "How long are you gonna STARE at me, boy?" The harshly spoken words coupled with the stench of alcohol clad breath dragged Kiyo out of his silent stupor and he braced himself. And he waited, he watched, until all he heard was a loud "TCH!" followed by his father turning to go into the kitchen.

     After a long while, long enough for the smell of black coffee to reach him, Kiyo slowly walks to the back room where his father had emerged from earlier. How he wished he could run to his mother. How he wished he could do something to stop his father from ever doing this again. But Kiyotaka has no rule outside of the sacred walls of Hopes Peak, his position of hall monitor has no meaning here where detention is instead called jail and where if someone gets a slip it can rip the ground out from under one's feet, where corrupt people are sometimes the backbone of a group. His family was no exception to this. "Mother, are you alright?" He whispers to the shivering figure that clings to the bed, ever so gently walking over to her. Things will be fine, he desperately thinks, things are already not as bad as they could have been.

     The first day passes silently and with no further incident as Kiyotaka tends to his mother. The second day no one speaks as his father hurriedly readies himself for work, and farther  still no one dares to so much as whisper even while he's gone. Kiyotaka is even more surprised as the third day comes and goes in the same manner, the fourth starting off on a relatively good foot. He wakes to sunlight filtering in through his pulled to curtains. He readies himself for the day ahead as he listens for any signs of his father or mother outside of his room. He heads to the kitchen on light feet, smiling to his mother as he passes her by. A while later the two work on breakfast together, setting the table and frying various foods while rice simmers in the rice cooker. Things seemed fine. It was wonderful, just Kiyotaka and his mother working together. He even shared a small laugh with her, and he began to relax. 'Yes, things are going much smoother than usual this time!' Kiyotaka thinks to himself as he examines his mother as she begins putting food onto the plates. But, all good things come to an end in spaces like this. Because the dark figures that lurk in doorways with sinister smirks and partly drunken stumbles seem to always find a way ruin them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is the first chapter. If you have any suggestions or have anything to say I'd love to hear it. This is my first multi-chap fic so I'm kind of nervous about it.


	2. Backtrack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so the story begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's still not a lot I have writer's block again suddenly, sorry. I'm still gonna try and update whenever I can, though.

     Hopes Peak Academy, a prestiged school recognized world wide that guarantees success to It's students just by having attended and completed an education there. A school that recruits only the best of the best _of the best_. The entire campus is massive, containing two separate buildings that house both classrooms as well as dorms for students that do not wish to commute between their homes and the school every morning or that live too far away to do so, as well as two separate gymnasiums, auditoriums containing spaces for both plays and concerts, and multiple areas meant only for specialized talents. There's surprisingly few rules imposed upon the student body of Hopes Peak giving the students plenty of room to focus on their individual talents, passing classes is said to be concernedly easy as it can be done without much effort actually being put forth, and the chairman of the school is said to be a very laid-back individual.  The school term starts in April and students are allowed to arrive at the school up to a full _month_ in advance if they so please, though not many do.  Most of the only students to arrive that early only do so out of necessity, and the main influx of students begins within the first week before the school year begins. One such student is Ishimaru Kiyotaka, a freshman in the 78th class in the main course of Hopes Peak Academy.

     He arrived a week prior to the start of the school year with a single suitcase in tow, nervous and grinning ecstatically. He was able to find a staff member to show him the way to the main office of the school where he was able to pick up not only his schedule and the keys to his dorm room and mail cubby, but also a map of the school itself. He thanked the staff members inside of the office profusely before heading to his dorm room, the suitcase rolling behind him occasionally clicking and clacking, with the newly obtained map as his guide. Thus, the first day was spent hanging up uniforms and arranging the sparse amount of belongings he'd brought with him until he was pleased. The next two days were spent with Kiyotaka familiarizing himself with the routes around the school he would most likely be using to get about once the first term started whilst the last two days of prep were spent familiarizing himself with other areas of the school before finally heading back to his own room to study and read a bit before heading off to bed, allowing him to wake up pleased with himself today as he had spent the entirety of past week productively. With his day off to a good start he begins changing into his pristine uniform, pinning on his arm band, and ticking off each daily action dedicated to hygiene from his mental list as they're done before finally sliding his keys into the pockets of his pants and leaving the dorms behind in favor of the cafeteria. Once there he makes his way towards a table along the wall, picking up a piece of bread and an apple on the way, and settling at the table nestled into the back corner of the room closest to the door that was all but empty. After his breakfast was gone he stood, leaving the canteen as students began to flock into the room in hopes of being the first to his new classroom.

     Once he'd made it into the room he was surprised to see that there were already a couple of people in it; one a petite feminine person with brown hair and eyes who looked nervous and nearly on the verge of tears, and the other a girl with waist long lilac hair who was staring intently at the door and glancing occasionally at the petite girl and himself, some times even pulling out a small pocket sized notebook to jot something down in it before sliding it back into her blazer pocket.  Deciding to make an attempt to talk to one of them he quickly strode over to the petite one, his smiling faltering as he noticed they had started to fidget while looking at him, and introduced himself. Loudly. "Hello! I am Ishimaru Kiyotaka, I believe in bold simplicity!" He quickly holds out his hand, feeling bad as the other seems to be taken aback by his loud voice and even flinching at his offering for a handshake until the other timidly takes it. "A-ah, hello, Ishimaru, How do you do? My name is Chihiro Fujisaki, I'm the Ultimate programmer," Chihiro offers in a shaky and timid voice, smiling at the beaming Kiyotaka. "Ah! It's nice to meet you, Fujisaki! I am the Ultimate Moral Compass," Kiyotaka's smile returns full force as his hand is released, "And if you would like to, you may call me Taka." as the two talk, other students slowly began to trickle into the room, and eventually the room was full. The teacher was still absent though, and Kiyotaka decided to take class introductions in general into his own hands. Marching himself to the front of the room he coughs into his hand, repeating the greeting he'd just given Chihiro. "Hello, I'm Ishimaru Kiyotaka! I believe in bold simplicity! I am looking forward to going on this educational crusade with all of you! I believe we should all introduce ourselves, now!" A few people murmured, others he could hear scoffing, and a few seemed to be nervous. He saw Chihiro nod to themself before standing and introducing themself, "H-hello! I'm Chihiro Fujisaki.....I'm not really good at self introductions...but it's nice to meet you all! I'm the Ultimate Programmer, and I hope we can all get along!" The next to stand and introduce them self was a young man with a blond bob, "The name is Togami Byakuya, Ultimate Affluent Progeny. That's all." "Celestia Ludenberg, I'm delighted to meet you all. I'm the Ultimate Gambler, by the way, if you were wondering." And so on and so on until nearly the whole class was introduced, "I'm Makoto Naegi, I'm this year's Ultimate Lucky Student. It's nice to meet you all and I'm honored to be here." One student left. "Nice'ta fuckin' meet'cha, the names Mondo Oowada and I'm the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader!" Oh. Oh no. " _LANGUAGE!_ " Kiyo instinctively shouts, pointing at Mondo and startling half the class as they seemed to have forgotten he was even there. The two stare each other down for a moment, Kiyotaka preparing to reach for the pack of detention slips the school gave to him the other day and Mondo glaring daggers at him. Eventually Mondo looks away with a loud "TCH" and Kiyotaka awkwardly takes a seat. There's a collection of relieved sighs at this, and then the teacher runs into the room- horribly late -and begins class.  
  
     The day seemed to pass a little slower than it had yesterday, or even the past week, after that. The whole day only two of his classmates talked to him, Chihiro and Naegi, and he seemed to have a talent for angering a boy named Leon Kuwata and the biker Mondo Oowada. By the time lunch rolled around Kiyotaka was already tired. "Hey, Taka, would you like to come eat with me?" Chihiro asked, a small smile on their face. "Of course I would! Thank you for inviting me, Fujisaki," Kiyo stands as he answers and the two walk to the cafeteria together. Chihiro goes towards the growing line where people are buying meals and Kiyo heads to the area he got his food from that morning, picking to get a small bowel of rice and a banana, before settling at an empty table to wait for Chihiro. Soon enough the petite one finds him and sits down next to him. "How come you didn't go up in line?" Chi asks, curiosity shining through, as they begin to dig into their meal. "Well, the food over there is free!" Kiyotaka beams, "This school really is quite thoughtful towards it's students!" "But, isn't the only things over there rice and some fruits? That can't be very filling, can it?" Chihiro marvels, a questioning look gracing their features for a moment. "It'll have to do!" Kiyo smiles, starting to eat himself. Over the course of lunch the two talk, Kiyotaka ending up telling Chihiro about his grandfather and his family debt while Chihiro tells him about their own family and various hobbies. Eventually the two walk back to the classroom together and the day continues on. Soon enough he finds himself back in his room sat at a desk and studying. Over the course of the next week each day goes very much the same way, although he sits with Chihiro less and less as he studies during lunch and breakfast more and more.

     On the eighth day of the first term Kiyotaka catches Mondo Oowada trying to punch someone in the hallway and in trying to give him a detention for it he nearly gets in a fight with the boy himself. Kiyotaka later vaguely wonders why Mondo had reacted in such a way to him breaking up the fight and wonders if he should had asked what it was over. On the ninth day Kiyotaka figures out that Chihiro has taken to sitting with Mondo, Kuwata, Sayaka, Asahina, and Sakura during lunch when Chi attempt to invite him to sit with them. He had wondered where they had been sitting since he'd started to decline their offer to have lunch together in favor of studying and he finds himself happy that they'd found a place to sit, though he still politely declines the offer for him to join them and takes his seat at the table in the corner- along the wall near the doors -a seat he's become much accustomed to. Two days pass that way. One the 13th day Mondo has already ended up with 15 detention slips since the start of the school year, Kuwata has 10, and Kiyotaka has caught Chihiro trying to convince Mondo to behave a little better at least 3 times. Kiyo slowly finds himself getting fed up with Mondo and Leon as his patience tpwards the two wears thin. On the 14th day Kiyotaka finally snaps and calls Mondo a coward for the first time; thus the days of nearly getting into a fight with the taller boy multiple times a day begins. A full month into the first school year Mondo and Kiyotaka finally challenge each other and they settle on an endurance battle, dragging Makoto off after class to be their judge. Much to Makoto's concern said battle lasted after curfew and the two allowed him to leave them to finish their battle alone. The morning of the 31st day before Kiyotaka can manage to leave the cafeteria for the more quiet classroom two figures plop down on either side of him. One of them is Mondo who offers him a smile as an arm finds it's way around his shoulders as he begins apologizing to him for having been a pompous jerk. The other is Chihiro whose hand rests on Kiyotaka's arm as they smile up at him. Both students are surprised to say the least as Kiyo begins to sob after a couple of minutes. The trio is almost late to class by the time Kiyotaka has calmed down. Kiyotaka hadn't been that happy in years. A couple days later leaves the three students once again closely huddled, only this time in Kiyotaka's room.

     "Taka, you've been studying for **three hours** , I think you can take a break now," Chihiro sighs directly into his ear on the right as they cling off of his shoulder as they continue to lean farther on Kiyotaka, forcing his attention away from his work. "Chi's right, ya'know. Don't you do anything but study, kyoudai?" Is Mondo's attempt to sway him coming from the left shoulder, also leaning on Kiyo as a means to distarct him. "My every moment is spent studying, I believe I've explained this at least _five_ times now," Kiyotaka grumbles, glaring at the math equation in front of him as he tries to bring his attention back to it instead of trying to balance himself against his friends' weights. "But Taka, you're already way ahead of the rest of the class anyways so maybe you can slow down and take a break with us," Chihiro tries once more, making a poor attempt to slide the math work away from him. "As a student I must keep up with all work given to me," Kiyo sighs as he reaches out and slides the paper back into place. "You've more than kept up with your work, kyoudai," Mondo snickers as he slides the paper away from Kiyo and back towards Chihiro, "You've done more work than the teacher knows ta'give ya at this point." "If that were so I wouldn't be sitting here playing tug of war with my own math homework with you two!" Kiyotaka nearly whines, reaching out once more to slide his math back towards himself. On his right Chihiro sighs as the paper slides out from under their hand once more, "Taka, you really should take a break. You've been staring at the same problem for at least fifteen minutes now, anyways." "But--" Kiyo begins before the paper is taken directly from his hand with a low growl from Mondo. "Kiyotaka Ishimaru if you don't stop studying for one goddamn moment I'm tossing you on my bike and we're _not_ coming back to school until I feel like the amount of time you've spent _studying_ has balanced out wi--" Mondo begins as he waves the paper in the air with one hand, his other slightly shaking Kiyotaka. " **FINE** ," Kiyo finally relents as he snatches the poor paper from Mondo's grasp before carefully tucking it away in a folder. A set of twin cheers come from both sides of him, a chorus of "FINALLY!" making Kiyotaka smile despite himself.


	3. Auscultation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mondo and Chihiro introduce Kiyo to music.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter is kinda blocky and stuff. I'm trying to peice together my ideas and all that. I might edit it to be less blocky later.

     "Wait, seriously?" Mondo asks in disbelief maybe half an hour into the forced study break that he and Chihiro had convinced Kiyotaka to take. Things had started out relatively normally with Chihiro and Mondo talking about a new game that was out and then other new releases like movies or albums that had already gone onto shelves or were on the way. Eventually Mondo noticed that Kiyo hadn't talked at all for the whole duration of their conversation, though, which worried him and Chi. Said worry led to the two quizzing Kiyotaka on _his_ hobbies which were...practically nonexistent. "Study, of course! I'm a student, aren't I? A student must be a studying professional," he had said, "Ah! I also used to practice a bit of Kendo...the time which I used for that has been replaced with my early morning patrols as well as my duties as the chairperson of the morals committee, though,  which keep me quite busy!"  "So what you're sayin' is that you have _no_ hobbies outside of school?" Mondo asks once more which earns him a smack on the arm from Chihiro who takes over in quizzing Kiyo. "Taka, have you ever played a video game?" Chi asks, "Even just once?" "No, If I had any time to kill, I would buckle down and study instead!" Kiyotaka states matter-of-factly as he looks from Chi's slightly flabbergasted expression to Mondo's contemplative one. "Okay, so ya ain't ever played a video game...have you ever watched any cartoons, then, or even TV at all?" Mondo asks, still looking thoughtful as he waits for Kiyo to answer. "The only times I watch television is to tune in on the news," Kiyo replies slowly, starting to fidget nervously as both of his new friends begin to stare at him rather intensely. "Okay, okay, TV is _one_ thing, but please tell me you've at _least_ seen a movie or two?" Chi implored, their tone of voice making Kiyo worried. "I....no...I haven't ever watched any movies," he begins glancing between the two in front of him, "Is it.... _bad_...that I haven't done any of these things?" By this point his eyes are starting to water as anxiety bubbles it's way up his chest as Mondo and Chihiro share a look. "It's not...bad...it's just a little unusual," Chihiro hums, concern gracing their features as Kiyotaka wipes at his eyes in a vain attempt to put a stopper on the tears that had appeared seconds prior. "Alright, so ya ain't ever played any games, never watched cartoons or any tv shows that weren't news related, ain't ever seen no movies, but maybe you've listened to some music? I mean, pretty much everyone has listened to music before, right?" Mondo questions, concern and curiosity battling in his expression as he watches, waiting for an answer. The reply was a stuttered gasp as Kiyo begins sobbing, most of what he's saying unintelligible past his crying. What bits the two do manage to pick out somewhat form a coherent sentence eventually, "'M sorry....I only know school anthems....I-I k-knew it was _BAD_....orry," being the main points they pick up on through his heaving sobs.  
  
     Starting to panic a little Chihiro moves forward quickly, reaching out and putting a hand on Kiyo's shoulder. They feel Kiyotaka flinch at the contact but presses forward anyways, "No, no, Taka. Listen. It's not _bad_ , it just makes finding a topic we can talk about a little harder is all! We just wanted you to feel included and we thought maybe you didn't since you were being so quiet, is all." Kiyotaka gasps before looking up, tears still streaming but his voice steadier with what seems to be realization, “I've tried making friends before, but whenever I would make conversation, it would die after a few minutes and now...I think I might have finally found the answer.....am I really that hard to talk to because I've never really....done anything other than study?" Mondo stares at the two in front of him as he tries to think of an answer, the wording striking him as a little strange, "Wait...you've _tried_ making friends? That makes it sound as if ya never managed to actually _make_ any." "Because I _haven't!_ You and Chihiro are the first people to not try and _avoid_ me after talking to me the first time!" Kiyotaka shouts, attempting once again in vain to stop crying. "But you're so _nice_ , Taka! Sure, it's a little hard to find something to talk about if you don't have a lot of things you're interested in but avoiding you is just cruel!" Chi gasps, "Those people obviously didn't even deserve to be friends with you if that's how they were." After a few beats of silence Mondo scoots over to the two, putting an arm around Kiyotaka's shoulders, "Chi's right, and hey, maybe we can just show you things _we're_ interested in an' stuff. Might even find something _you_ like if we do that, and I know me an' Chi would love to tell ya all about whatever it is!" "Wait, Mondo, that's a perfect idea! But...we can't possibly show him everything at once, can we?" Chihiro smiles, linking their arm with Kiyo's as he looks between the two. "Let's just start with showing him music, we got time for that, right?" Mondo hums as he pulls out his cellphone and brings up YouTube, "I call first song, by the way." After a few more seconds of silence a beat starts up and lyrics follow nearly automatically. "Foorget my jealooously~ You swallowed the demons on your own. There's nothing left for me, I keep thinking back to when you saaid "We own the niiiiiiiiiiiight,"" the song starts as Mondo slightly hums along.  Kiyotaka finds that he likes the beat and rhythm of the song as it goes on as well as the singer's voice when he's not screaming, though some of the lyrics were rather questionable to him, and Mondo watched him intently during most of the song. Once the song ends Mondo asks him what he thought of that one, and the three decide to let Kiyo listen to another song by the same group as he clicks on a song titled "Awkward". It starts off a little slower than the previous one but he finds he likes it all the same, "I work harder than anyone, and I can do it while I'm having fun, yeah I’m a get, I’m a get, I’m a get get better, I want to be, I want to be somebody, I’m gonna be somebody, I'm gonna be somebody," were some of the first lyrics into the song as Kiyo found he rather related to this one during certain parts of it. "Okay, so he likes Dance Gavin Dance, then, right?" Mondo smiles, "Least it seems ta' me he does." "They're....nice sounding, I guess. It wouldn't hurt to listen to a bit more of them!" Kiyo smiles back before a cry of "Wait wait! It's my turn, now!" comes from Chihiro.  
  
     "I'm gonna play something a bit more....pop...so give me a minute to look up my song!" Chihiro says as the phone is passed to them. It's not long before a very upbeat tune begins to play from the speaker within the phone. Soon enough the words start and Chihiro actually sings along to it although the part they seemed to like the most was the "They tell us from the time we're young to hide the things that we don't like about ourselves~ inside ourselves~ I know I'm not the only one...who spent so long attempting to be someone else, well I'm over it!" bit of the song seeing as they erupted into a fit of giggles, barely able to finish singing along to it, after that line. "So what did you think of that one?" Chihiro asks, tugging on Kiyo's sleeve as they pass the phone back to Mondo once more. "It was a very nice song! I quite liked that one! Also, you're a very nice singer, Chihiro!" Kiyo exclaims, talking with them as the two wait for Mondo to pick a song. After a minute or two he sighs, "Chi help me pick something, ere...I wanna show him different genres an' crap but I'm drawing a blank!" "Well, we've done post-hardcore and pop, uhm, do you know any electronic music?" Chi mutters, leaning over Kiyo to look at the phone as Mondo scrolls through the music suggestions. "Uhm, a little? Would Emotional by Pavilion and Koma be a good one?" Mondo asks as he starts typing the song into the search bar. "It'll do, I guess," Chi nods before sitting back from leaning over Kiyotaka who had watched the exchange in confusion. "Genres?" he questions the two as he stares at the small screen. "Oh, yeah, music has a lot of different styles and they're called genres. It's pretty interesting to hear the differences. Like, how in Mondo's songs they sorta....uh....screamed? Whereas in the one I picked they didn't, and had different beats and stuff," Chihiro explains as the next song starts. Kiyo seems a little bit distant during the song, his only comment on it being that the beat was very interesting and that he liked it although the lyrics made him a little uncomfortable. The next one to pick a song was Mondo, "I thought of another song while that one was playing so I'm gonna go ahead an play it...it's indie, by the way." "I was scared of dentists and the dark, I was scared of pretty girls and starting conversations. Oh, all my friends are turning green, you're the magician's assistant in their dreams. Oh, and they come unstuck~" the song starts and Kiyotaka finds himself happily bobbing his head along to it with a happy smile on his face. "I....really like this one," he smiles, "It's very sweet!" "Ya think so? I like this one a lot, too," Mondo chuckles as he pulls Kiyo closer to him and hands the phone over to Chihiro. "You're both nerds," Chi laughs, "Good song choice, though. Really. I don't usually listen to a lot of indie music but I actually liked that one." After a short while in which Mondo and Kiyotaka start up a conversation on how they are most definitely NOT nerds just for liking the song Chi finally pulls up another song. "I'm playing another electronic one," they say as they click on the link and pass the phone back to Mondo just as the song starts up.  "Do you love me? Do you need me? Do you want me?" are really the only lyrics in the song but the beat is nice the trio agrees. "Not my favorite, but I've definitely heard a lot worse," Mondo chimes as he scrolls through the suggestions again. "Hey, Chi, help me pick the next song again."  
   
     "Let's play another pop song....hey wait did you just scroll past 'I Love It'?" Chi murmurs, their eyes lighting up as they try to wrestle the phone from Mondo, "Play that one! That one!" "Chi we're try'na get him to LIKE music not convince him that it's influencing people's behavior or some shit!"  As Kiyotaka watches the battle for the phone in fascination Chihiro argues that it's a good song and it's totally worth the play, enetually managing to click on the video much to Mondo's displeasure. "Oh boy." A extremely peppy beat starts to play as the two watch Kiyo's expressions. "Did they just say they _crashed their car_ into a bridge and just...watched it burn?" he screeches not even twenty seconds into the song, causing Chihiro to fall into a pile of giggles on the floor. "They said it again! That's not safe!" he whines, motioning to the phone currently laying on the floor, "And this song has twice as many curses as the others! Once or twice I can understand, but this many times?" Chi's laughter grows louder with each passing word and eventually Mondo joins in, the song ending and Kiyo crossing his arms and huffing. "Why must a song with such questionable lyrics have such a catchy beat?" he huffs, falling back onto the floor. "That's pop music for ya," Mondo smiles as he joins the smaller boy, wriggling his way under him so that Kiyo is practically using him as a pillow. A few beats of silence later and Chihiro flops down on top of Kiyotaka, "So, that's just a few songs. There are hundreds upon hundreds of different songs, though....hey, maybe we should watch a movie or something, now?" "What day is it, again?" Mondo asks as he pokes at Kiyo, obviously expecting the answer to come from him. "It's Saturday. so it would be perfectly fine if we were to fall asleep seeing as it's not a school night.....meaning I don't see much harm in continuing this, and I doubt either of you do as well," Kiyo hums, smiling as the chest beneath him rumbles with an exclamation of "Hell yes!" and the body above him cuddles closer to him with a following shout of "sweet!"  The trio decide to just look up a list of movie recommendations and picks a random one as they migrate to the bed, all three cuddling close as they set up the phone on Kiyo's nightstand. Two hours later finds Chihro fast asleep and curled up into Kiyotaka's side, Mondo snoring with his arms around the smaller boy, and Kiyotaka blearily looking at the phone's screen in hopes of finishing the movie. But as the phone finally dies he's left with the sounds of his friends' breathing and the clear sound of Mondo's heartbeat. He vaguely remembers a word as he yawns, his eyes slipping closed. Auscultation: the action of listening to sounds from the heart, lungs, or other organs, typically with a stethoscope, as a part of medical diagnosis. As he falls asleep to the relative quiet of his sleeping friends and the warmth being cuddled with them provides he wonders if maybe friendship could be the medical diagnosis for why he's so happy right now, or why he's so okay with sharing his bed with these two when he hasn't shared his bed with someone since the last time he shared one with his mother. Finally giving into sleep he cuddles as far into Mondo as he can, pulling Chihiro with him away from the edge of the bed, and falls into a peaceful, happy sleep for what feels like the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCuEaQKPTAM - this is the first song Mondo plays.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9y0JJfWKIo - this is the song Kiyo clicked on.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXJwVDKbxfo - Chi's first pick.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0ZKcB2c928 - The first one they both decided on.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUI5uLysKaE - Monmon's second pick.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piXRVCRY_ls - Chi's second pick.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6K0iUo5nDY0 - Their second shared pick. Lolol.


	4. Waking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio goes through waking up after their impromptu sleepover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I edited a bit of the earlier chapters. It's not much but you might want to take a gander at 'em now. Also, sorry it's been a bit. I was previously using my boyfriend's second computer but he had to take it back cause his neice blew out the one he'd been using so I had to find my tablet, then I realized I had no idea where the charger was and had to find one that worked, and then I had to wait for it to charge which led to waiting for it to stop glitching out due to the sheer amount of updates and things it had to catch up on and so on. And hopefully using this tiny keyboard doesn't lead to too many typos or anything. Sigh. Anyways, here's the next chapter. Sorry it's kinda filler-y. \\( ; v ; )/

     Bring-ring-ring. Bring-ring-ring. Bring-ring-ring. Chihiro groans quietly, their hand blindly searching for the evil device known as the alarm clock. As something on the assumed nightstand falls over with a clatter they cringe before realizing that it had been leaning on the alarm clock. 'Alarm found.....alarm _off,_ ' Chihiro thinks as they groggily slap the button to shut it off. They lay there for a minute as their brain slowly starts to work again after being forced out of a REM cycle, 'Oh yeah, I fell asleep during the movie last night.' Chi lazily rolls onto their side as they dig about, pulling their phone out of their pocket. Reflected on the black off screen of the phone is their face, behind them the cuddled forms of Mondo and Taka. Smiling fondly at the scene Chihiro turns their phone on, switching over to the camera, and snaps a quick selfie of the three of them cuddled up together. Chihiro then exits the camera and checks the time, groaning once more. 'He wakes up at  _four am_ , what sane human being wakes up at  _FOUR AM?!_ ' they think as their options are set out on the proverbial table. They could wake the others up and force them to suffer through the waking world with them, or they COULD give in to the sweet release of death with benefits. As they're tossing their options about Chi feels their eyelids sliding closed and they sigh, 'Back to sleep it is, then.'

     A few hours later finds Mondo awake as Kiyotaka grumbles in his sleep, practically trying to burrow into his side. Looking over he realizes that some time while he and Taka were sleeping Chihiro had stolen the blanket, 'Huh, that explains why I have a human ice cube trying ta cuddle me to death.' At this point the only way Mondo could see Kiyo being able to get any closer to him was if he were to break open his ribs and climb in. Or, apparently, to swing a leg over him. Snickering to himself Mondo manages to reach over them both and grab Chi's cell, snapping a picture of the scene. As he looks at the photo he notices one before it that had been taken a few hours earlier of the three of them from Chi's part of the bed. The picture made Mondo chuckle; it was admittedly a pretty nice sight. Even though Chihiro looked as if they'd rather be anything but awake they were smiling fondly with all three of them cuddled up on the bed and underneath the cover. Taka was smiling into Mondo's shoulder in his sleep and Mondo had an arm wrapped around both Chi and and Taka as he seemed to be drooling a little with a contented look on his face. It was peaceful to look at and made his heart swell with happiness. Shuffling and a quiet threat of "Delete it and I delete you" makes him realize that Chihiro had woken up while he was staring at the pictures of the three of them. "I ain't gonna delete it," Mondo grumbles quietly as he hands Chi their phone back, "I was gonna ask ya to send it to me, actually. This one, too." "Awh, you took another one?" Chi coos silently, stiffling their laughter as Mondo glares over at them with a slight pink tinge on his tanned face. "Yeah, now will ya send me the pictures? My phone's probably dead anyways," Mondo whispers, swatting at Chi playfully. "Yeah, I'm sending them now," Chi smiles, "Oh good god, it's still this early?" "How early is it? Kiyotaka don't seem like the type ta sleep in an all, after all," Mondo grumbles as he makes an attempt to sit up without waking up Kiyo. "Oh, yeah, he DEFINITELY doesn't sleep in, his alarm went off at  _four_ this morning," Chihiro groans at the reminder, "And it's like nine thirty-eight." "So yer telling me this kid wakes up at four in the fucking morning?" Mondo asks, voice slightly distressed at the mere idea of waking up that early. "Yup. Four am. Anyways, aside from him waking up so early don't you think it's a little concerning?" Chihiro mutters, glancing back down to see if Kiyotaka was still asleep as they sit up on the bed. "What's concerning?" Mondo questions as he finally frees himself from the sleeping hall monitor.

     "He's done NOTHING but study, Mondo. I mean, we had to show him MUSIC," Chihiro whines, quieting back down as Kiyotaka grumbles in his sleep. "Oh, yeah, that....that was definitely weird?" Mondo yawns, "I mean, I guess there's kids who never play video games or anything but he's not done a thing. No games, no tv, no music, no nothing." "It didn't even seem like it was his own choice not to," Chihiro huffs, "I mean....he asked if it was bad! He seemed really panicked about it!" "Well, he did seem like he thought it might be why he's never had friends before," Mondo says quietly, his tired brain trying to process the thought, "If it weren't Taka who said it I would probably doubt that he ain't EVER done any of this or had friends before but he doesn't seem the type to joke bout this sorta stuff." "Of course he's not, he's the Ultimate Moral Compass," Chihiro sighs, "Mondo, this explains so much. Like why he's so awkward and confused whenever someone tries to talk to him about something not school related, or why he reacts to certain things the way he does...he just doesn't _know_ about any of it!" "Alright, alright, shhhh!" Mondo says, shushing Chi as they gradually get louder, "So, if he don't know then all we have to do is help him to, right? We'll keep doing what we did with the music yesterday an' stuff." "Mondo, this is serious! What kind of a home life does he have, do you think?" Chihiro mumbles, "I mean, most of this stuff most families do together, right? Like watching movies and tv and all that." "Course this is serious, but we can only do so much, yeah?" Mondo sighs, "We can introduce him ta things he might like an that's really it, Chi...and he'll talk more about his family if he wants ta, just give em more time. It seems to be a pretty sensitive subject for him." From in between the two Kiyotaka grumbles again, turning about a bit before calming down again. The two share a look, Chihiro sighing, "I guess you're right...it does seem like a sensitive subject for him. He kinda reacts to it how you used to react to Chuck dying, actually." From between them Kiyo rolls over, blinking his eyes open to stare at the ceiling for a minute. Mondo and Chihiro hold their breath, waiting to see if he'd make any indication that he'd heard them talking. Eventually Kiyotaka sits up, looking over to his alarm clock, "It's...ten am?"  
     
     Kiyotaka stares at the clock for a moment, his brain working to try and understand what was going on as Mondo and Chihiro stare him down. "Morning, Taka," Chihiro finally smiles, "Yeah, I might have turned your alarm off when it went off thinking I was in my own room, and then I kinda fell back asleep?" "Morning....Chi," Kiyo yawns, blearily looking over at Mondo for a moment, "Morning...Mondo." Chihiro and Mondo share a glance before looking back at Kiyotaka who had gone back to muttering "Ten am" while staring down at the bed. "Uh, yeah, morning," Mondo mumbles, "You...okay there?" "Oh...I...yes," Kiyo mumbles as he rubs at his face, "Not really a morning person." Oh. "Is THAT why you wake up so early?" Chihiro asks, "Are you actually a slow starter in the mornings?" Kiyotaka nods absently as he makes an attempt to crawl off the bed, resulting in him face down at the end of it. "Well, that's super fucking unexpected," Mondo chuckles, "I figured you'd be one of them up an at em types, kyoudai." "Language," Kiyotaka mutters as he finally manages to get himself off of the bed, "Ten am." Kiyotaka makes his way to his dresser, pulling out clothes, before making his way into the bathroom inside of his dorm room, leaving behind a bemused Chihiro and Mondo. "I guess he didn't hear us talking, then," Chihiro giggles, "Even like that he scolded you for your foul mouth." "Chi, he'd scold me for it even if he was deathly sick," Mondo laughs, "An stop laughing, it ain't that funny." "Then why are YOU laughing?" Chihiro grins, "You can't tell me to stop laughing until you do!" "I mean, he pretty much had to slink out of the bed, I just, do ya think he's ever rolled outta it? Daiya is a slow waker most of the time, too, and I've seen him roll outta the bed before," Mondo breathes, trying to stifle his laughter. "Oh my god no don't you make me imagine TAKA of all people just...rolling out of the bed and directly onto the floor," Chi laughs, "Oh my god this is great. Taka of all people is a slow waker. This is adorable."

     A few minutes later a blushing Kiyotaka slams his bathroom door open, "Please stop laughing, you two." "Oh my god, Taka, you're blushing," Chihiro giggles, "We'll stop, sorry, sorry." "Sorry, but this is just so unexpected," Mondo smiles as Kiyotaka sits back down on the bed. "Thank you, and I guess it is," Kiyotaka huffs, "I _have_ been described as being enthusiastic to the point of being angry before, and I suppose people wouldn't expect someone like that to wake up slowly, would they?"  "Well, it takes me a while to wake up, too, but I guess it's not surprising coming from me," Chihiro shrugs. "Hm, yeah, not as surprsin' with you," Mondo chuckles, "An I guess I wake up pretty easily." After talking for a while Chihiro and Mondo finally leave Kiyotaka's room to go get ready for the rest of their day. While Kiyotaka was a little sad to part with them for the day he had to admit to himself that waking up had never been quite so enjoyable. Sighing to himself, he sits back down and pulls out the math work he'd given up on the night before to begin working on it, letting the plot of last night's movie mingle with the bits of lyric that had stuck out to him in the back of his mind along with the laughter of his friends. Today was a good day, even if he'd woken up _much_ later than he was used to. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah. This chapter really feels like filler to me but I hope you guys like it.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm always open to suggestions for the story, like seriously I completely welcome them please tell me your suggestions if you have any, and if you like this story thus far then please please PLEASE kudos/subscribe. Comments are also FULLY welcome and super duper appreciated! I'm really trying to hype myself up into not giving up on another story, even more so since I REALLY want to make this not only a finished story but a multi-chapter one. I'm literally using your guy's support as my driving force for writing this, so thank you so much. It means a lot to me that I can write something that people are interested in actually reading.


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